Variety

Somehow I managed to watch 9 movies this week, but I couldn’t decide on one to talk about. I decided, instead, to talk about all of them briefly and the importance of watching a variety of movies. I keep an ever expanding list on my phone of movies and TV shows to watch. Some are recommended by friends, some were discussed in my classes or textbooks, and others are just things that I want to see of my own volition.

Viewing movies that are diverse in genre, plot, cast, crew, views, and perspectives is incredibly important in expanding your knowledge of film as well as allow you to empathize with unique people in varying circumstances. Even movies that leave you wanting that hour-and-a-half back can teach you something.

These are the movies I watched: Doctor Strange (2016), Tom & Thomas (2002), Your Name (2016), Pacific Rim (2013), The Social Network (2010), Whiplash (2014), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging (2008).

While each of these movies weren’t equally enjoyable to watch, they each had something to offer. For instance, Doctor Strange and Your Name both deal with time, but each of them deal with it uniquely and in a way that can expand creativity. Your Name and The Secret Life of Pets are both animated films, but they have very different tones. Tom & Thomas and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging both star Aaron Taylor-Johnson which demonstrates the variety and growth that actors can achieve.

There are many times when people don’t like a movie, but they aren’t quite sure what it was they didn’t like. By watching a lot of different movies, it will become easier to decide if it was a particular performance that wasn’t enjoyable, a plot that wasn’t engaging, dialogue that wasn’t believable, pacing that seemed awkward, disjointed, or too slow, or if a film was over-directed and the actors didn’t have enough room to breathe. It will also open up your mind to the different possibilities of storytelling that may not have occurred to you otherwise. Keeping variety in what you watch is incredibly important for creativity as well as knowledge.